Santa’s Stages

There may be no better time to put your butts in some seats than the holidays. This time of year normally offers a great mix of classics we all know and love and original works that may be set in the weeks between Thanksgiving and late December but don’t get all caught up in the festive hoopla. Fort Worth theater is here to fill your cup to the brim, starting with The Nutcracker. Texas Ballet Theater’s production of the 1892 Tchaikovsky classic has become an annual tradition in North Texas, and this year’s Fort Worth performances are Thu-Sun at Bass Performance Hall (525 Commerce St, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280). During matinee shows, the lobby of the glorious downtown venue will be transformed into the Kingdom of Sweets. One hour before showtime, kids will be able to meet and take a photo with a real ballerina, write a letter to the dancers, see costumes up close, and learn about ballet training. There’s also an Ugly Sweater Night Thursday. Wear your ugliest sweater, and enter in the lobby to win prizes in a contest.

Featuring holiday parodies of today’s most popular songs, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas follows a little girl who can’t find her holiday spirit, so her mom takes her on a magical treasure hunt all through New York City, with stops at Radio City Music Hall and Macy’s, among others. (CBGB on the itinerary?) Casa Manana (3101 W Lancaster Av, Fort Worth, 817-332-2272) will be the site of this timeless tale thru Mon, Dec 23. There’ll be a sensory-friendly performance 11am Sun, Dec 8, with a more relaxed environment, including muted production elements such as lights and sound, and a quiet room.

Commissioned by NBC and first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on December 24, 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer and has become a holiday staple across the world. The first opera specifically composed for television in the United States is kind of like the story of the Little Drummer Boy, so you know it’s a crowd pleaser. Fort Worth Opera knows it is, which is why the troupe is performing Amahl 11am and 3pm Fri-Sat, Dec 20-21, at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden (3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-463-4160). Proceeds from this event benefit the Botanic Garden. Tickets are $15-25.

FWO will also present a special afternoon of music at 2pm Sat, Dec 14, at Fort Worth Presbyterian Church (6251 Oakmont Tr, Fort Worth, 817-731-3300). The FWO’s Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists will perform an hour of holiday favorites as part of the show Wintersong.

North Texas’ most esteemed Black troupe, Jubilee Theatre brings the sounds of the season and some good old-fashioned elder wisdom to W.E. Scott Theatre at Arts Fort Worth (1300 Gendy St, Fort Worth, 817-738-1938) Friday thru Sun, Dec 15. In the heartwarming Auntie Explains Christmas, her friends and family learn the true meaning of the season while singing and dancing the night away.

Will Rogers Auditorium (330 E 4th St, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-665-6000) will turn into Arendelle when the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performs the music of Frozen 7:30pm Fri, Dec 13, and 2pm Sat, Dec 14. The FWSO will perform “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” “First Time in Forever,” and more, including the showstopper “Let It Go,” as the film plays on the big screen behind the musicians. Tickets are $46-121.

At Haversham Manor, “things are quickly going from bad to horrible,” and as Stage West’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong proves, that disaster gets those butts (maybe yours?) in the seats. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who keep tripping over everything, including their lines, The Play That Goes Wrong runs through Sun, Dec 22, at 821/823 W Vickery Blvd (Fort Worth, 817-784-9378).